


Of Angels and Men

by lokithegodofsass



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Angel Castiel, Angel hunter Dean, M/M, Teenage Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2018-01-07 08:40:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokithegodofsass/pseuds/lokithegodofsass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean didn’t know how long they wordlessly but maliciously glared at each other. The angel was obviously too injured to fly, a huge disadvantage if Dean attacked. He could kill him and bring him home. John may be proud of him if he did so, proud enough to forget to punish him for running off. Young Sammy would be upset, since he had come to the conclusion that angels only attacked because they felt threatened. Dean figured that Sam just found their wings pretty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lone Angel

The Winchester boys had a lot of promise. Both of their parents had come from a very long line of success. Their father’s family read and learned many different tricks while their mother’s did most of the actual fighting. When John Winchester met Mary, the love of his life, he got married, abandoned his research and joined her family as hunters. But tragedy struck just five years after they had met. A yellowed eyed demon killed her, when Dean was almost five years old, to get to his legendary baby brother Sam. She put up a hell of a fight, but the demon was powerful. But disposing of her used up all of his power and he was forced to flee before he could harm Sam. John was away and the ‘what ifs’ still haunted him. Could he have stopped the tragic death of his love if he was around?

Instead of returning to research, John broke away from other hunters and sought revenge. Unfortunately, the yellow eyed demon had vanished so he turned his anger to angels. After all, that’s what everyone else hunted. Hunting an angel was very challenging since they could only be killed with a very special sword. And wherever John went, Dean and Sam came along to.

The day that Dean turned sixteen, he signed up for the hunting class intensive. It was taught by Bobby Singer, a friend of his dad’s. Bobby was technically a researcher, but sometimes he couldn’t help but join the fight. The combination of the two made Bobby an extraordinary hunter and a perfect teacher for the children. Dean was guaranteed to be one of the best kids in the class; unlike the others he had a handful of experience.

It was with that attitude that Dean went into the forest the night before his first class. He knew it was dangerous to go in the forest alone, especially at night when an angel could easily sneak up on you, but he was an arrogant sixteen year old boy. The arrogance trumped whatever smarts he may have picked up.

Dean wouldn’t have been too surprised if he ran into a pack of angels. But what he wasn’t expecting was to find a lone one. Angels were _never_ spotted alone, a point that John could never stress enough. Once more, this one was injured. It (he, Dean corrected himself, since besides the wings he looked like a human male) had a bent right wing and he was clutching his side, hobbling along the riverbank. Dean was surprised he wasn’t yelling; angels could make this ear-splitting high pitched noise if they needed other angels.

 _A lone angel,_ Dean thought to himself suddenly. _I could really impress Dad and Bobby. Bring home a dead one with no lessons._ Dean snuck up and hid behind a tree, clutching the special angel dagger he kept with him just in case. The angel had his back to him, and Dean tip toed towards it. Unfortunately, that was his first first-hand experience with angel’s sharp sense of hearing. The angel swung and faced him, and Dean froze in his tracks.

The angel puffed out his non-injured wing. Even though it was just one wing, Dean had to admit he was terrified. The wings were almost black mixed with bright blue. Sam once told him that the angel’s wings were a mix of the colors of its hair and eyes. At the time Dean didn’t care, and why did he care now? He was a dead man. He closed his eyes and waited for the impact. How did angels kill? Was it a painful, bloody death or a peaceful one? Almost every angel hunter witnessed the angels killing, but not one said a word about it. He opened his eyes slowly and realized the angel was still staring at him viciously. His bright blue eyes (Sammy was right; they were the exact color of the blue in his wings) were almost daring him to attack, and he looked ready to kill. So why wasn’t Dean dead?

Dean didn’t know how long they wordlessly but maliciously glared at each other. The angel was obviously too injured to fly, a huge disadvantage if Dean attacked. He could kill him and bring him home. John may be proud of him if he did so, proud enough to forget to punish him for running off. Young Sammy would be upset, since he had come to the conclusion that angels only attacked because they felt threatened. Dean figured that Sam just found their wings pretty.

“Come on, kill me already!” Dean exclaimed. The angel tilted his head slightly in almost-confusion. Dean wondered if he could understand him, but he couldn’t keep himself from adding “Kill me and bring me back to your kingdom.”

“I do not work for the Father.” So angels did speak English. Dean supposed he shouldn’t be too shocked but he did spend a good minute gaping at the angel. His voice was deep and gravelly, a huge contrast to the high pitched screams that he could sometimes hear in the distance. “And I do not wish to harm you.” Dean couldn’t help but sag his shoulders in relief. “However, if you do not drop that dagger then I will change my mind.” Dean’s dagger fell to the floor and it was the angel’s turn to relax.

“CASSIE!” a voice called in the distance. It was a higher, more jovial voice. The angel stiffened slightly, although he refused to turn his attention away from Dean.

“Your name is Cassie?” Dean asked. If he wasn’t still a bit fearful of the angel he would have laughed. “Because in the human world that’s a girl’s name.”

“Castiel,” the angel corrected. “And I would be careful if I were you. That’s the archangel Gabriel and he is looking for me. I am injured and there is a sword at your feet. He may make an assumption that you hurt me.”

“Wait, an archangel?” Dean asked, raising his eyebrows. Sam once told him that in the angel kingdom the leader (Castiel had called him ‘the Father’) picked four archangels to battle for the throne when he passed on. Why would an archangel be looking for Castiel if he didn’t work for the Father?

“Yes,” Castiel said. “You should leave, Human.”

“Dean,” Dean said, not really wanting to be referred to as ‘Human’. “Do you need help?”

“Gabriel will attend to me,” Castiel said simply. “Now go, Dean.” Dean ran off, leaving his dagger on the ground. The last thing he needed was to be caught by an archangel.


	2. Gabriel's Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You were always a terrible liar,” Gabriel sighed, ruffling up Castiel’s hair. Castiel flinched and ducked away before whining in pain. The wound was closed and his wing was fixed, but it still hurt like hell. Gabriel twirled the dagger in his fingers before spotting the family crest. “It’s a Winchester dagger. John Winchester wouldn’t have left you injured; he would have gone for the kill or died in the process. It must have been his older son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short-ass chapter but whatever, I'm lazy

“There you are!” Gabriel flew up next to Castiel, who had kneeled over in pain after he was sure Dean was gone. “What happened to you?”

“I was attacked,” Castiel said simply.

“Well duh,” Gabriel said teasingly, and Castiel smiled slightly. After Gabriel leaned down and healed his wounds, he noticed Dean’s dagger on the ground. Castiel noticed it at the same time and paled slightly. Hunters had their family crest carved on their daggers and angels could easily figure out the owner of the dagger. And Dean was in trouble if Gabriel picked up that dagger.

“That’s not the dagger that stabbed me,” Castiel said. Gabriel gave him his signature ‘oh please’ look and Castiel quickly came up with a story. “It was here when I got here.”

“You were always a terrible liar,” Gabriel sighed, ruffling up Castiel’s hair. Castiel flinched and ducked away before whining in pain. The wound was closed and his wing was fixed, but it still hurt like hell. Gabriel twirled the dagger in his fingers before spotting the family crest. “It’s a Winchester dagger. John Winchester wouldn’t have left you injured; he would have gone for the kill or died in the process. It must have been his older son.”

“Dean did not attack me,” Castiel said. “Don’t go after him.”

“Cassie, listen to yourself,” Gabriel laughed, although there was serious concern in his voice. “I do believe that not all humans are bad, but the eldest Winchester boy is well on his way to becoming a ruthless hunter. He turned sixteen this year, Castiel. There is no doubt that he is going into training.”

“But he didn’t kill me,” Castiel said. “He probably could have, but he didn’t. He even willingly dropped his knife and left it here.”

“Did it occur to you that he ran off to tell hunters about an injured angel?” Gabriel asked. Castiel stared at him blankly. “I’m sorry Cassie, but you can’t trust hunters.” They stood up and flew to their cave. “No more running off, alright? You’re to stay with me at all times.” Castiel sighed and agreed before slowly falling asleep.


	3. Lost Dagger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It took Dean a while to find where he had met Castiel, since they had met at night. Forests look different when sunlight is shining through the leaves and creating small patterns on the grass below. But he remembered that it was by the riverbank, so he kept walking along the edge until he found it. As he bent to pick him up, something fell from the trees right onto his back. He yelped in surprise and struggled until he met the golden eyes of an angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this makes up for the last chapter

Training started at 3:00 in the afternoon and Dean realized that he had forgotten his dagger in the forest. Dean grumbled to himself before sneaking to find it.

It took Dean a while to find where he had met Castiel, since they had met at night. Forests look different when sunlight is shining through the leaves and creating small patterns on the grass below. But he remembered that it was by the riverbank, so he kept walking along the edge until he found it. As he bent to pick him up, something fell from the trees right onto his back. He yelped in surprise and struggled until he met the golden eyes of an angel.

“What are you doing here?” the angel asked angrily. His build was smaller than Castiel’s, but his golden-brown wings were much bigger. Sam had once said that the wingspan mattered much more than the size of the body in angel society, and Dean had told him to shut up and polish his blade.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Dean said as he struggled. The angel’s wings were monstrous; one hit could probably take out the best hunters. Dean shuddered when he imagined what they could do to a sixteen year old boy.

“Gabriel, stop!” Dean hadn’t noticed Castiel in the lake. Gabriel (an _archangel_ ; Dean would be renowned if he made it home alive) loosened his grip slightly and turned towards Castiel. Castiel gulped slightly and stood up a bit straighter. Dean realized that he must have been swimming (shirtless, which for some reason made Dean’s face go pink). Angels were generally on the leaner side and Dean had to admit that this particular one looked good without a shirt. 

“Cassie, we can’t trust him,” Gabriel said, although to his credit he no longer looked like he was ready to murder Dean.

“I’m not going to attack,” Dean said quickly. He looked at Castiel, who was watching him with a completely blank expression. “Come on, Castiel, help me out here?”

“I trust him, Gabriel,” Castiel said finally after a torturous minute of nothing. “He could have easily killed me last night, but he chose not to.” Dean didn’t want to mention that Castiel scared the crap out of him, injured or not. It wouldn’t help his case too much. Gabriel grumbled something in a foreign language (Angel Language perhaps?) before letting Dean go. Dean scrambled to his feet and looked back and forth at the two of them. As much as he sort of had the urge to goggle at the shirtless angel, Dean didn’t dare turn his back away from Gabriel for too long. Castiel met his eyes before hastily turning away and grabbing his white collared shirt and pulling it over his wings. Dean was oddly grateful that the wet shirt clung to his torso so that it was essentially pointless.

“Why aren’t you at the kingdom?” Dean finally asked Gabriel. Gabriel quirked his eyebrows slightly but Dean was legitimately curious. Archangels never left the kingdom unless it was an emergency.

“None of your business,” Gabriel snapped, shooting him a death glare. Dean looked at Castiel, who shook his head ever so slightly. Dean sighed and sat down.

“I’m not going to hurt you guys,” Dean said after a few minutes of tense silence consisting of Gabriel glaring at him and Castiel staring at him almost curiously. He decided that he liked the blue-eyed angel more than the archangel.

“Are you or are you not going to the camp where you learn how to murder my kind?” Gabriel spat. Castiel just stood impassively in the background and Dean kind of wanted to hear his voice again.

“I’ll quit,” Dean said quickly. “I’ll become a researcher, like my brother.”

“And research ways to kill us?” Gabriel asked. “That makes me feel way better, Winchester.” Dean noticed Castiel sitting down in front of a tree and kind of wanted to sit next to him. Compared to Gabriel, compared to other angels, he was quite nice. “Castiel, I’m going to visit Samandriel. You’ll kill the human if he goes rabid won’t you?” Castiel gave Gabriel a blank look and Dean was wondering whether it was a look of confusion or confirmation. Gabriel nodded and was gone in a flash. Angels could fly so quickly that it looked like they were teleporting. Gabriel was an archangel so he was particularly speedy.

When he was gone, Dean sat next to Castiel. It was a while with just the two of them sitting in silence, until finally Dean couldn’t take it anymore.

“Why are you alone in the forest with an archangel?” Dean asked. “That is all sorts of weird." 

“Gabriel put it harshly but I will stand by his point,” Castiel said simply. “It’s none of your concern.”

“Are you on the run?” Silence. “Are you on a secret mission to take over humanity?” More silence. “Who’s Samandriel? Is he an angel?”

“I would advise that you don’t ask so many questions,” Castiel said after a few moments. “Pissing me off is an unadvisable scheme.”

“I survived an archangel,” Dean said, puffing out his chest.

“Because I convinced him not to kill you,” Castiel added. “There is no need to become arrogant.”

“Shut up,” Dean mumbled. Castiel blinked a few times before intently focusing on the ground. Dean glanced at him. “Hey, guess what?” Castiel looked up at him but didn’t say a word. Dean met his eyes smugly and said “I have a guardian angel.” Castiel’s glare turned bitter, but he still refused to say anything. “You know, you don’t have to give me the silent treatment.” Castiel’s gaze turned slightly confused, but it still had iciness to it. “Is this about me telling you to shut up? Because you don’t have to listen to me, Cas.”

“Did you just call me Cas?” Castiel asked softly.

“Castiel is kind of a mouthful, mate,” Dean said with a slight smile. “But if you don’t like it I can…”

“No, it’s fine,” Castiel almost whispered. “Just… It caught me off guard.”

“Don’t angels have nicknames?” Dean asked.

“Gabriel calls me Cassie,” Castiel mumbled. Dean figured he was missing something, but he didn’t want to press it. “I do prefer Cas.”

“Okay, glad we got that settled,” Dean smiled. The corners of Castiel’s lips pulled up slightly and suddenly Dean was determined to make him smile. But first he needed to learn more about angels. “Um… Are angels forced to follow orders?”

“What do you mean?” Castiel asked.

“Like in this one movie my friend Jo’s obsessed with, Enchanted or whatever, the girl is cursed so that she is forced to obey everything that people tell her,” Dean said. Castiel looked completely lost.

“We are not cursed,” Castiel said, sounding slightly annoyed. “The urge to obey is strong, but we may choose not to.”

“So if humans were to yell ‘DO THE CHICKEN DANCE’ would angels actually do it?” Dean chuckled.

“Some stupid ones may,” Castiel said with an almost shrug. Dean doubled over in laughter, picturing angels doing the chicken dance, their wings flapping along to the beat of the music. Castiel just stared at him, silently judging him. “Okay, Cas, I gotta go back.”

“The training camp is going to start,” Castiel said, pointedly looking away from him. Dean stared at him, wondering how he knew. “Angels do know a bit about your culture. This is why Gabriel and I have to leave.”

“Leave?” Dean repeated. He _wasn’t_ disappointed and it was _not_ showing in a tremor in his voice.

“On the last week of your terrible little camp, they capture a real angel for you guys to practice on,” Castiel said. “The humans trim their wings so they can’t fly so they’re basically useless in combat. The death for that angel is very slow and humiliating.”

“So they might capture you or Gabriel?” Dean asked quietly.

“They wouldn’t capture an archangel,” Castiel said. “Not unless they want all of you to die.”

“So you?” Dean asked, resting his hands on Castiel’s. Castiel nodded his head and Dean jerked his hand away. “You can’t go.”

“Why not?” Castiel asked. Dean stared at him, trying to think of a reason.

“Perhaps you can convince humans that not all angels are bad,” Dean shrugged. “Sammy and I can help you. Maybe I can get Jo on our side too, but you’ll have to charm her.”

“I’m afraid that is not an option,” Castiel said. “I will admit that angels aren’t-“

“Little angels?” Dean asked, his lips twitching into a smile.

“I don’t understand that reference,” Castiel said, tilting his head slightly and furrowing his eyebrows together. “But my point is we aren’t the only ones at fault here.”

“I know that,” Dean said, lying down and looking at the sky. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Castiel looking at him. Once they made eye contact, it was like Castiel’s eyes sucked some of the blue from the sky. The sky actually got greyer. “Which is why you can’t go. Cas, we can change it. Maybe angels and humans can live together in peace.”

“Dean, I don’t have a lot of a say over my fellow angels,” Castiel said.

“But Gabriel does,” Dean said, turning his head towards Castiel. “He’s one of the four archangels.”

“He caused a bit of havoc before the two of us left,” Castiel said in almost a grave tone. “He’s not exactly in good terms with the other angels.” Dean sighed and crossed his arms. Now he would probably never see Castiel again and _why would this matter?_ “But I will talk to him.”

“You’re awesome, Cas.” Dean saw Castiel’s lips tug up in an almost smile and he couldn’t help but grin.

“You should go.” Castiel stood up and was gone in a flash, and Dean grudgingly picked up the dagger and went to the training camp.


	4. First Day of Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The normal tradition was that kids weren't allowed to touch a blade until their first class. John, who was almost unhealthily obsessed with angel hunting, had Sam and Dean hitting bullseyes by the time they knew how to subtract. Jo would watch them and taught herself everything that Dean learned from John.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry it took six million years to update. my computer broke and i lost everything, so today i decided to start from scratch.

If any of his peers was more determined to hunt than Dean, it was Jo Harvelle.

Jo's father died on an angel hunt a year after Mary was killed by the yellow eyed demon. Like John, her mother Ellen was a researcher. The similarities between the Winchesters and the Harvelles ended there. Ellen was determined to keep Jo's nose buried in a textbook and away from the battlefield. Jo was incredibly headstrong and Ellen's determination to stop her only spurred her interest. Dean was lucky that he was on her good side because she was probably the only amateur hunter that could kick his ass six ways to Sunday.

"You're late," Jo hissed as Dean stepped onto the training field. Bobby Singer gave him a look, but didn't comment.

"Left my blade in the cabin," Dean mumbled in explanation. "What's happening?"

"Those idiots are learning how to sharpen their blades," Jo smiled slightly. The normal tradition was that kids weren't allowed to touch a blade until their first class. John, who was almost unhealthily obsessed with angel hunting, had Sam and Dean hitting bullseyes by the time they knew how to subtract. Jo would watch them and taught herself everything that Dean learned from John.

"Will you two idjits stop fiddle-farting around?" Bobby leaned over both of their shoulders. Jo sucked in a deep breath and Dean mumbled a "sorry" before making sure that his blade was sharp enough to kill.

"That's red dirt on your blade," Jo commented after eyeing it cautiously. Dean nodded and Jo's eyes widened. "But, the only place that has red dirt is the lake in the forest. You didn't go out there by yourself, did you?"

"So what if I did?" Dean asked defensively.

"You stupid bastard," Jo mumbled, shaking her head. "You're lucky you didn't meet up with a pack of angels."

"Yeah," Dean chuckled. "Although I did see one. And an archangel, too."

"Don't try to act all impressive," Jo smiled ironically. "You would've been fried to bits if you ran into a normal angel, let alone an arch."

"They ran away from their pack," Dean continued, ignoring Jo's smart aleck remark. "And for some reason they let me go." He sighed and wiped the red dirt off of his blade before gazing into his reflection. "Doesn't matter anyway. They're probably far away by now."

"What, was the angel a pretty girl or something?" Jo scoffed. Dean didn't comment and Jo slapped his arm. "God, Dean, you are such a creep!"

"And yet you had the biggest crush on me," Dean smirked slightly. He decided to leave out the fact that said angel was a male.

"We were twelve and you have nice eyes," Jo said through gritted teeth. Dean batted his eyes teasingly and Jo slapped him again. "At least tell me if it was the arch or not."

"It wasn't," Dean said quickly. "It was the other one."

"Good," Jo shook her head. "Why am I friends with such an idiot?"

The rest of the lesson went by quickly, at least for Jo and Dean. Bobby Singer sat them down and explained what was going to happen next.

"The top ten students will be put in a ring with a clipped angel at the end of the month," Bobby said after giving everyone some sort of syllabus. "Of course, none of the angels in the real world are going to have clipped wings but the new insurance policy requires that we do this anyway." He folded his hands together. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, Bobby," Dean stuck his hand up. "Where does this angel come from?" Bobby furrowed his eyebrows, as if to wonder if the question really mattered.

"Curiosity is a trait for researchers," Bobby smiled slightly. "But, if you must know, we have already caught the angel."

"Already?" Dean repeated in a hushed tone. Bobby nodded his head. Then, in order to not appear suspicious, he chuckled. "Oh. Okay."

"Your noggin okay, Dean?" Bobby asked. "You normally wouldn't care where the angel came from."

"I'm fine," Dean laughed somewhat defensively. "I just... spent the entire day helping Sam." He saw that Bobby remained unconvinced. Jo rolled her eyes in his peripheral vision. Neither of these things computed. Instead, the same two words repeated in his head.

_Save Cas._


End file.
